Bloomberg reported on the 29th (local time) that Chinese asset management company Harvest Global Investments applied for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). This movement can be seen as evidence of the rapidly increasing interest in virtual currencies among financial services companies in Hong Kong.

Harvest Global is said to be in discussions with regulators regarding a stablecoin sandbox in Hong Kong in addition to applying for a spot ETF, according to Bloomberg. Accordingly, Bloomberg reported that not only Harvest Global, but also VSFG and RD Technologies are discussing sandbox plans with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

In this regard, Hong Kong-based financial services company Venture Smart Financial Holdings (VSFG) announced that it plans to launch an ETF that directly invests in Bitcoin in the first quarter of this year. At least 10 fund managers are reportedly preparing to launch cryptocurrency-backed ETFs in Hong Kong.

According to this Bloomberg article, based on the example of the United States, which saw the successful launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is also expected to accelerate applications for Bitcoin ETFs in the coming months. This can be seen as evidence that investment interest in and expectations for virtual currency are increasing.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong regulators have announced a plan to issue licenses to supervise stablecoin issuers, and are scheduled to hear opinions on this until the end of February. This move shows that Hong Kong's regulation and management of virtual currency and blockchain technology is gradually strengthening.

This move is expected to lead to more regulatory and investment activity in virtual currency and blockchain technology in Hong Kong in the future. For now, it appears that cryptocurrency and technology companies are paying attention to regulations and arrangements regarding business activities in Hong Kong.